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The Hepworth Wakefield is exploring the lives of women sculptors in Britain over the past six decades with a new exhibition that opens later this month.

If Not Now, When? Generations of Women in Sculpture in Britain, 1960 – 2022 will open at The Hepworth Wakefield at the end of March to explore the lives of women sculptors in Britain during a significant period of social and artistic change.

It is the culmination of the feminist research project, Hepworth’s Progeny by The Hepworth Wakefield and art historian, Griselda Pollock and sculptor Lorna Green, working with Yorkshire based curatorial researchers Dr Anna Frances Douglas and Dr Kerry Harker.

The exhibition includes work by women sculptors who have received some of the highest accolades in the art world, alongside practicing artists whose work is in relative obscurity.

Helen Chadwick's 1977 work, In the Kitchen, will be on display at the exhibition in Wakefield.

And looks at the reasons why there are not as many known women sculptors and explores the barriers to commercial success women face through both a sociological and thematic lens.

Eleanor Clayton, senior curator at The Hepworth Wakefield, said: “This exhibition opens at a pertinent moment when attempts to reconfigure, revise and re-balance aspects of recent art history are underway.

"We are delighted to bring together such a broad range of incredible women sculptors to conclude the intergenerational research project, Hepworth’s Progeny.

"The project is a natural continuation of The Hepworth Wakefield’s ambition to showcase underrepresented women in sculpture. The research project answers questions on the challenges of women artists and raises vital questions about how the art market can be more accessible to women.

If Not Now, When? Generations of Women in Sculpture in Britain, 1960 – 2022 will open at The Hepworth Wakefield this March.

"We are grateful to Griselda Pollock, Lorna Green and our curatorial researchers, Dr Anna Frances Douglas and Dr Kerry Harker, for their work on this project which we hope will be influential in supporting the forthcoming generation of artists.”

The exhibition features around 30 works by sculptors such as Rose Garrard, Glenys Barton, Permindar Kaur, Katrina Cowling, Kim Lim, Lilian Lijn, Veronica Ryan, Shelagh Wakeley and more.

The exhibition will run from Friday, March 31 to Sunday September 24, 2023. Entry is free to Wakefield residents and all people under the age of 18.

International Women's Day 2023: Celebrate female artists at The Hepworth art gallery in Wakefield this March